# McElroy (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mcelroy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 24,668 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,446 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,516 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.5% (24,064 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmækl̩ˌɹɔɪ/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Giolla Ruaidh (“son of the red-haired lad”). See also gillaroo.

## Who carries it

Share of people named McElroy in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 79% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 16% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named McElroy in the United States.

## People named McElroy

- Neil H. McElroy, American businessman (1904-1972)
- Immanuel McElroy, American basketball player (born 1980)
- Alan B. McElroy, American screenwriter

## Similar surnames

McIlroy, McCleary, McClary, McElrath, McKellar, McCleery, McLeroy, McLarty, McClory, McClure, McLaurin, McLaren.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.